Survey reveals high incidences of aggression in care homes

A survey by the Alzheimer’s Society of nearly 200 care homes across the UK suggests a high frequency of challenging behaviour by people with dementia with resulting distress on the part of care staff. The survey has prompted the charity to reiterate its call for more staff training and condemn the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence’s (NICE) plan to deny people with dementia who have behavioural problems access to licensed drug treatments. In the care homes surveyed: # 73 per cent had records of a person with dementia being verbally or physically aggressive in the past three months, 22 per cent of care homes reported more than 10 incidences during this period. # 35 per cent reported that a member of staff had been injured as a result. # 89 per cent reported staff being distressed by people with dementia’s behaviour and many staff suggested that the recorded incidences were the tip of the iceberg. Alzheimer’s Society director of research Clive Ballard said the survey painted a bleak p